To the Letter

"So you're telling me that we must drop off those Supplies before we head to the Voletaan System?" Elijah asked as he walked down the Hall of his Ship with his XO firmly on his heels. "It's in the opposite direction....."

"That's what it sounds like." Michelle said. "I'm reading the orders in my hands right now."

Elijah and Michelle had been bickering about this since the Orders were relayed to them. "Who the bloody hell builds a Research Outpost on a Planet once part of Dominion Space? Better yet who ALLOWED them to do it?" The Commander asked Michelle as he took a PADD from another Crewman.

"Someone I'd personally like to toss out a bloody airlock, sir." Michelle replied. "It makes no sense to me either. Do we have anything from Intelligence on what we're even supposed to expect?"

Elijah nodded. "A Survey Team in 2388 set it up originally to Catalogue the various forms of Plant Life." The Commander handed the notes to his XO. "They discovered that something in the Atmosphere can affect Sensor Scans and as a result all passing Ships wouldn't detect anything on the Surface."

"Oh so it's a needle in a haystack in EVERY sense, then." Michelle said.

"Exactly, since 2390 the Outpost has been looking at ways of using the Plant life for Medicinal Purposes." The Commander commented as the two of them stepped into the Turbolift. "It has 15 people assigned there, 4 Botanists, 5 Researchers, 4 Starfleet Personnel, a Medic and a mechanic."

"Don't put a bloody research station and scientists who can't defend themselves in the middle of a god damn hostile area!" Michelle said. "Scientists are terrible with defending themselves in a crisis. I know! I was one."

Elijah chuckled. "Well there is that......." He joked with Michelle having read her File very thoroughly when selecting his XO. "So who sent the orders?" He asked.

"Admiral Richards" Michelle said. "He claims there were no other ships in the area, but I can't possibly imagine the reason for having us basically go that far off course for something this urgent."

Elijah shook his head. "Richards? Which one is?" He asked curiously.

"Starbase 311" Michelle replied. "Bit of a bloody flake if I remember."

The Commander pondered it for a second. "Receding? With a small grey Goatee and False right eye?" He asked Michelle,

"Bingo." Michelle said. "I suspect his brain leaked out when they were putting it in."

There was a small chuckle that escaped from both of them at that point in time. "Alright, have McClane see to it before we get there." Elijad said to Michelle. "Oh and by the way have you heard about a Signal Starfleet picked up a few days ago?"

"Not yet." Michelle said. "What's going on there?"

He shrugged. "They reportedly picked up a Signal from the Gollum Expanse, 250 years since anything was last reported there."

Michelle's eyes lit up. "The Gollum Expanse? We know almost nothing about that area. Aside from what you just said. There could be all sorts of fascinations awaiting us there."

"Starfleet agrees with you there, it's one part of the Alpha Quadrant that everyone is eager to see." He said as the Lift stopped. "All I know is that R&D have got raging hard ons and that Starfleet Intelligence are concerned.

"Intelligence is always concerned. You spend most of your life chasing bogeymen and you believe they're around every corner. They could probably find a threat to Federation security in a room full of Vedeks."

Elijah chuckled. "That is true, so see to it that all the Supplies are accounted for and then have Helm set a course for the Voletaan System, Warp 3."

"I'll get right on that. I'll have a chat with the Ops chief as soon as I can." Michelle replied.

Elijah nodded. "Alright I'll be in my Quarters." He said stepping onto the deck. "Contact me when we are in Orbit and then we can beam down those Supplies......If we figure what to send them to."

"Aye, sir." Michelle replied before heading to the bridge.

With that being said Elijah departed and headed to his Quarters, with everything being so busy the Commander had little chance to properly unpack. Oh this was going to be fun.......